Obituaries

Them! and Skullduggery: The Bridge to Johor

Sometimes I start one place, go down a side road, end up elsewhere, and find my way back to say goodbye. The 1950s-1960s movie and television character actor Christian Drake, who played Trooper Ed Blackburn in the classic 1954 film Them!, has died at the age of 82. Is it a coincidence that I just flipped on my television to catch the last hour of this movie on cable? Bizarre! The film Them! was directed by Gordon Douglas, who would later be the director for Skullduggery, a fascinating 1970 cryptozoology film about the Tropi (pictured below), bipedal hairy hominoids, which [...]

Lyle Stuart, Frank Edwards’ Publisher, Dies on June 24th

June 24th has seen the passing of publisher Lyle Stuart, above. When I wrote on June 22nd of the "Wonders of St. John’s Day," I observed that some prominent writers and researchers had died on June 24th. The date that is generally remembered today as the "birthday of flying saucers" (June 24, 1947) has historically been the focus of many strange events, from Bigfoot sightings to Chupacabras encounters too. Acknowledging the deaths of various phenomena writers and fans, I mentioned Frank Scully in 1964; Frank Edwards in 1967; Arthur Bryant in 1967; Richard Church in 1967; Willy Ley in 1969; [...]

Narrator of The Legend of Loch Ness Dies

Arthur Franz, a character actor whose voice will forever be remembered as the narrator of The Legend of Loch Ness, died at St. John’s Hospital in Oxnard, California, of heart failure and emphysema, on June 17, 2006, at the age of 86. The film was a 1976 documentary on the famed Scottish Lake Monsters, Nessie. Franz was earlier best known for his role in Invaders from Mars (1953). Franz, who lived in New Zealand until the last month or so, had been in failing health for some time and wanted to spend his remaining days in California. Franz also played [...]

Karl Pflock’s Official Obituary

When it was learned that Karl Pflock died recently, Cryptomundo noted his passing due to the fact he had, now and then, skeptically also tackled a few cryptozoological topics. I had corresponded with Karl during his life, and I wanted to note his departure from the scene. I have since, again, heard from his widow, who sends a formal obituary to be published here, so exacting details can be shared properly. We express our sympathies to Karl’s family, once again. Mary Martinek emails along the following: Karl Tomlinson Pflock 06 January 1943 — 05 June 2006 PFLOCK — Karl T. [...]

Return of Abominable Snowmen

Sometimes it causes me a little tribulation to announce the reprint of a new book, and this is one of those times. Not because of the contents of the book, not because of the original author, and not even because of the price. No, sometimes, I have feelings about seeing good books republished too quickly as paperbacks, by publishers sometimes known for their loose editing and less than classic packaging. Hopefully, I will be mistaken about this one, but I won’t know until I see a copy to find out. Any day now, Adventures Unlimited Press (AUP) is set to [...]

Florida Gators Kill Two More

The Associated Press is reporting on May 14, 2006, that the "bodies of two women, both apparently killed by alligators, were found Sunday less than a week after a similar death in a state that had seen just 17 confirmed fatal attacks by the animals in the previous 57 years." The cases specifically are: (1) A 23-year-old woman staying at a secluded cabin near Lake George was attacked while snorkling at a lakeside recreation area, said Marion County Fire-Rescue Captain Joe Amigliore. The lake is about 50 miles southeast of Gainesville. and (2) In Pinellas County, the death of [a [...]